Looking forward...

Camp preparations happen all year - not just the week you go to camp :-)

I asked the Directors to share what they are looking forward to this summer and here is what they had to say:

Every year I look forward to seeing God work through leaders, staff and campers. I spend a lot of time planning every detail so that I can deliver an engaging and uplifting experience only to find it turn out very differently, but exactly how He wanted it to. He sends the right combination of people to this wonderful camp where family-like friendships are formed. He provides light for us to see his love and opportunities to share it with each other. He lifts us up through those he has surrounded us with creating lasting bonds, memories, and motivation to share it with others. Pass it on! - Dianna (Primary Camp)

I’m looking forward to seeing how God plays out the theme for camp this year in the leaders, staff, and campers. Growing up, I always felt connected to God while at camp, but the connection outside of camp is what I struggled with. I was very easily distracted by life, and found myself straying from the path God intended for me to be on, and to be honest I can still get distracted. I know there are others who attend camp who struggle with this too, so I’m looking forward to focusing on how to help them stay connected and rely on their faith in God outside of camp. - Taniesha (Junior Camp)

Peace. I realize it’s not a sentence or paragraph. But that’s what I’m looking forward to for the campers, leaders, staff and myself. - Emily (Sr. High Camp)

As campers and volunteers, what do you look forward to when you come to Camp Tamarack?

Winter Youth Retreat 2019 - thoughts

Here are some thoughts from leaders and staff that attended the weekend in February:

At the winter retreat I liked how you the different ways of reading and understanding the Bible were incorporated into the weekend like Florilegium and Havruta, I also liked when we wrote to the veterans. Overall was a good weekend. - JS

Camp Tamarack is a place to rest and recharge. Winter youth retreat is a place to catch up with friends from the summer . I enjoy cooking for the young people . - LJ

Peaceful. In a world that is so busy and distracted by everything, camp is refreshing. I did not charge my phone once because I never 'needed' to be on it. Camp is a reminder for me that I do not 'need' technology in my life. I love quality time with others around me. Camp is a place where quality is a must, even for those who would usually hide behind their phones. There is no stress because you are there with the people. You are not there with the people and the multiple others that you may be texting. Refreshing and peaceful. I appreciate Camp Tamarack for these reasons. We push each other in faith through love, support, and community.  - KO

The biggest thing I enjoy about coming to camp as a leader would be interacting with and getting to know the campers individually to ensure they have a good experience. Watching them also become better friends with each other was another thing I noticed over the weekend, which was also great to witness. Being a leader here also helps me practice valuable leadership skills that are needed to be successful in my career. - CP

From Dust You Came and From Dust You Shall Return

Growing up Baptist, we weren't very liturgical. I think the only way I knew that Lent had started was because for lunch on Fridays at school we would have fish sticks. I didn't like fish sticks so I think I may have fasted without realizing it.

Today is Ash Wed - the 46 days prior Easter. 
The time frame of 40 days and 6 Sundays represents the 40 days Jesus was in the wilderness. It is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the joy that is to come Easter morning. 

Is it a literal fast from food  for a day/time frame or fasting from things we may need to let go that aren't good for us - all the time spent on a video game, sugar, social media, single use plastic, fill in the blank _______. What's interesting to me is this is a personal decision in how I approach Lent. 
There have been times where people have talked about taking something up for Lent. Take up reading a daily devotional, commitment to prayer, volunteering somewhere, giving to charity, fill in the blank _____. 

The whole point of giving up or taking up something is to feel closer to God to find a practice that works for you.

Today I was able to receive ashes at the Region Office from one of our gifted pastors. She started with a prayer and then as she placed the ashes on our foreheads she started with telling us we are beloved. Even though we are dust/dirt/ash, we are beloved by God. 

So are you - maybe you needed to hear that today -   Remember that you are God’s beloved dust, and to God’s beloved dust you shall return. Amen

It's been awhile....

The last time I posted on this blog was in 2013!
A lot has happened and changed since then!

We've had 5 summers of camp, 6 Winter Youth Retreats, numerous rentals and more....as this gets going again I may share about more changes - right now let me share about what is coming up for 2019.

Registration for the summer is now open our website www.camptamarack.com.

The theme this year is "Connectedness" - last year was Rootedness and it makes sense to talk about the next steps of faith - once your roots are strong, how do you stay connected to God, to others, to family, to church, to ________ whatever you need to stay connected to.

Our verse this summer is

The Camp Commission had a great discussion on what it means to be connected, how campers could experience being connected even when their camp is over, what keeps us connected to camp and what it means to their faith journey. 

I am excited to see where this summer goes.

There will be more blogs - I promise - so stay tuned! Good to be back :-)